Considerations for Upgrading Reporting Services

Upgrade is performed by SQL Server Setup. SQL Server Setup can be used to upgrade any or all SQL Server components, including Reporting Services. To upgrade an earlier version of SQL Server, run the SQL Server 2008 Setup program on a computer that has an earlier version of SQL Server installed. Setup detects the existing instances and prompts you to upgrade.

When you run Setup, you can select the option to upgrade from SQL Server 2000 or SQL Server 2005, or you can install a new instance of SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services that runs side-by-side existing installations.

This topic highlights important considerations that you should be aware of before you upgrade Reporting Services.

No upgrade support for a report server that uses a remote SQL Server 2000 Database Engine instance to host the report server database.

No support for the SQL Server 2000 Report Server Web service in SQL Server 2008. This endpoint is discontinued. If you created or installed custom features that point to the ReportServer2000 endpoint, that custom functionality will no longer run. For more information about new endpoints, see Report Server Web Service Endpoints.

No support for earlier versions of the Reporting Services WMI provider. The Reporting Services WMI provider is not backwards compatible with previous versions. After upgrade, you cannot use the SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services WMI provider with earlier versions of Reporting Services.

For more information about supported upgrade scenarios, see Version and Edition Upgrades. If you cannot run Setup to perform an in-place upgrade of your existing installation, you can install a new instance of SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services and then migrate your report server database and configuration files to the new instance. For more information about migrating Reporting Services, see How to: Migrate a Reporting Services Installation.

Back up the following report server configuration files: Rsreportserver.config, Rswebapplication.config, Rssvrpolicy.config, Rsmgrpolicy.config, Reportingservicesservice.exe.config, Web.config (for both the report server and Report Manager ASP.NET applications), and Machine.config (for ASP.NET if you modified it for report server operations).

Back up any customizations to existing Reporting Services virtual directories in IIS.

Before you upgrade a production environment, always run a test upgrade in a pre-production environment that has the same configuration as your production environment.

Upgrade will not delete old log files, the obsolete RSWebApplication.config file, or virtual directory settings in IIS. Upgrade will not remove SQL Server 2005 Report Designer, Management Studio, or other client tools. If you no longer require them, be sure to remove these files and tools after upgrade is finished.

The upgrade process begins when you select an existing report server instance to upgrade.

If the report server database is on a remote computer and you do not have permission to update that database, Setup prompts you to provide credentials to update to a remote report server database. Be sure to provide credentials that have sysadmin or database update permissions.

Setup checks for conditions or settings that prevent upgrade and reads configuration settings. Examples include custom extensions deployed on the report server. If upgrade is blocked, you must either modify your installation so that upgrade is no longer blocked, or migrate to a new SQL Server 2008 instance. For more information, see the Upgrade Advisor documentation.

If upgrade can proceed, Setup prompts you to continue with the upgrade process.

Setup creates new folders for SQL Server 2008 program files. The program folders for a Reporting Services installation include MSRS10.<instance name>.

Setup adds the SQL Server 2008 report server program files, configuration tools, and command line utilities that are part of the report server feature.

Program files from the previous version are removed.

Report server configuration tools and utilities that are upgraded to the new version include the Reporting Services Configuration tool, command line utilities, and Report Builder. New tools installed with SQL Server 2008 include the new Report Designer Preview.

Other client tools such as Business Intelligence Development Studio, SQL Server Management Studio, and Books Online are not upgraded. To obtain new versions of the tools, you can add them when you run Setup. Earlier versions will co-exist alongside SQL Server 2008 versions. If you installed samples, the earlier version will remain. Setup does not support upgrade for the SQL Server samples.

Setup reuses the service entry in Service Control Manager for the SQL Server 2008 Report Server service. This service entry includes the Report Server Windows service account.

Setup reserves new URLs based on existing virtual directory settings in IIS. Setup might not remove virtual directories in IIS, so be sure to remove those manually after upgrade is finished.

Setup upgrades the report server databases to the new schema and modifies the RSExecRole by adding Database Owner permissions to the role. This step only occurs when you are upgrading from SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services or SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services prior to SP1.

Setup merges settings in the configuration files. Using the configuration files from the current installation as the basis, new entries are added. Obsolete entries are not removed, but they will no longer be read by the report server after upgrade is finished.